Following an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, National Geographic has announced that Neil deGrasse Tyson will return to host ‘Cosmos’ and ‘Star Talk’. No further information was divulged. There are 13 episodes of ‘Star Talk’ ready to go, and those will return to the air in April. Fox and National Geographic are working to determine when to bring ‘Cosmos’ back.
‘Cosmos: Possible Worlds’ was originally scheduled to return on FOX on March 3, with NatGeo following on March 4. There are 13 episodes of the new season, which will air in 172 countries and 43 languages. The latest season of ‘Star Talk’ consists of 20 episodes, three of which aired before the new allegations surfaced.
Also on hold is the companion book ‘Cosmos: Possible Worlds’, billed as a followup to ‘Cosmos’ creator Carl Sagan’s ‘Cosmos: A Personal Voyage’. ‘Cosmos: Possible Worlds’ was scheduled to be released in February. A new date hasn’t been announced.
‘Star Talk’ was taken off the air in early January, while ‘Cosmos’ was pulled in February, after one of Tyson’s former assistants, Ashley Watson, claimed she had to quit after Tyson attempted to pressure her for sex, and Dr. Katelyn Allers, a physics professor, alleged that Tyson groped her at a conference in 2009. In 2014, Tyson was accused of a rape that was said to have occurred when he was still a grad student in the 1980s.
At the time, Tyson stated:
“Evidence always matters. But what happens when it’s just one person’s word against another’s, and the stories don’t agree? That’s when people tend to pass judgment on who is more credible than whom. And that’s when an impartial investigation can best serve the truth — and would have my full cooperation to do so.”
Upon pulling his shows, NatGeo stated:
“In order to allow the investigation to occur unimpeded, we chose to hold new episodes of ‘Star Talk’ until it is complete. We expect that to happen in the next few weeks at which time we’ll make a final decision.
“We take these matters very seriously and we are reviewing the recent reports.”
Are you happy that Neil deGrasse Tyson will once again be a familiar face on TV?
Source: Variety
